The First Modern Psychological Thriller
I
enjoyed this so immensely and it definitely deserves its place in the canon as
the first modern psychological thriller. This novel was so engrossing that I
could barely put it down. I found myself thinking about it while I was at work
or completing other obligations. I love when a book can do that to me. That’s
when you know it’s really good! All you want to do is get back to it.
I think some of the psychological suspense that’s perfected in this novel is so subtle that the reader isn’t even aware why they feel unsettled. I read a lot of reviews after finishing the book that readers really didn’t like Miranda and felt almost no sympathy towards her. This is an intentional choice, I believe. There’s a reason the novel starts from the perspective of the abductor, Frederick. He is our perspective into the narrative. We listen to his thoughts and his emotions. We find ourselves empathizing with Frederick. This is the key to the psychological manipulation in the novel. The reader themself is being manipulated. Once we realize that we are sympathizing with the captor, the bad guy in this situation, it makes us question our own morals. The same thing happens in movies when the villain is giving a monologue and the audience thinks, Well that makes a whole lot of sense actually. Now why are they the bad guy? I think that Fowles intentionally makes us identify traits in Frederick that are present in ourselves. His desire to be loved by the one who ensnares his heart and the actions he takes to do anything for her, anything she wants while she is in his presence is something everyone can relate to. The only difference is that Frederick has kidnapped Miranda. The reader feels as if Frederick should be a villain that has no redeemable qualities, but Fowles forces us to confront our polarizing and liminal way of categorizing the villain by forcing us to see at least some of ourselves in him.
I think this is only amplified when we get to read Miranda’s diary in the second section. She is even more unbearable. She is abducted and most of her journal is about a guy she likes! Many reviewers said they almost stopped reading when they had to slog through Miranda’s voice. I think this is the point. She’s unbearable. We learn that Frederick is hopelessly in love with a young woman who isn’t mature, and her thoughts and feelings are hard to read because it’s grating. There is almost non-existent empathy in the reader for Miranda. Yes, we know it is wrong that she is kept prisoner to Frederick, but somehow, it’s not as bad as it could be. I think this is the essential concept behind Fowles’ novel. We are forced to question crime and what it means to be a villain as well as the things we do for love, even when the object of our affection is so clearly not reciprocating, or faking reciprocation.
I think the thriller aspect of this novel is fascinating as well. I loved how Fowles had Fredrick allude very clearly to things in the future. He would say things such as (before she did what she did) and I didn’t know how bad it would end up. These aren’t exact quotes, but just similar examples to show you what I mean. At the end of the first section, it ends with a quote like the latter. Then, we are forced to read over 100 pages of Miranda’s diary – all while knowing something bad is going to happen! Fowles makes us wait so long for the gratification of figuring out the bad thing that comes. Then, the novel is over in about fifteen pages. This novel really stood the test of time in the psychological thriller department.
I can definitely see how this novel relates to others in like genres. I immediately was reminded of Lolita because it is one of my favorite books and has much the same type of narrator as Frederick. A newer release that I can see influences in is You by Carolina Kepnes. I didn’t particularly enjoy this novel and found it mediocre, but I can see how Kepnes could have been inspired by The Collector for sure. Her main character stalks a woman he sees in a bookstore and attempts to insert himself into her life to become her boyfriend at the cost of the lives around her. I love this genre of novels written from the perspective of the offender and I think they are so compelling to read because we get to be in the mind of a creep. However, I can only imagine how insane this drives the authors, having to live with these characters and inside their minds to write!
I think some of the psychological suspense that’s perfected in this novel is so subtle that the reader isn’t even aware why they feel unsettled. I read a lot of reviews after finishing the book that readers really didn’t like Miranda and felt almost no sympathy towards her. This is an intentional choice, I believe. There’s a reason the novel starts from the perspective of the abductor, Frederick. He is our perspective into the narrative. We listen to his thoughts and his emotions. We find ourselves empathizing with Frederick. This is the key to the psychological manipulation in the novel. The reader themself is being manipulated. Once we realize that we are sympathizing with the captor, the bad guy in this situation, it makes us question our own morals. The same thing happens in movies when the villain is giving a monologue and the audience thinks, Well that makes a whole lot of sense actually. Now why are they the bad guy? I think that Fowles intentionally makes us identify traits in Frederick that are present in ourselves. His desire to be loved by the one who ensnares his heart and the actions he takes to do anything for her, anything she wants while she is in his presence is something everyone can relate to. The only difference is that Frederick has kidnapped Miranda. The reader feels as if Frederick should be a villain that has no redeemable qualities, but Fowles forces us to confront our polarizing and liminal way of categorizing the villain by forcing us to see at least some of ourselves in him.
I think this is only amplified when we get to read Miranda’s diary in the second section. She is even more unbearable. She is abducted and most of her journal is about a guy she likes! Many reviewers said they almost stopped reading when they had to slog through Miranda’s voice. I think this is the point. She’s unbearable. We learn that Frederick is hopelessly in love with a young woman who isn’t mature, and her thoughts and feelings are hard to read because it’s grating. There is almost non-existent empathy in the reader for Miranda. Yes, we know it is wrong that she is kept prisoner to Frederick, but somehow, it’s not as bad as it could be. I think this is the essential concept behind Fowles’ novel. We are forced to question crime and what it means to be a villain as well as the things we do for love, even when the object of our affection is so clearly not reciprocating, or faking reciprocation.
I think the thriller aspect of this novel is fascinating as well. I loved how Fowles had Fredrick allude very clearly to things in the future. He would say things such as (before she did what she did) and I didn’t know how bad it would end up. These aren’t exact quotes, but just similar examples to show you what I mean. At the end of the first section, it ends with a quote like the latter. Then, we are forced to read over 100 pages of Miranda’s diary – all while knowing something bad is going to happen! Fowles makes us wait so long for the gratification of figuring out the bad thing that comes. Then, the novel is over in about fifteen pages. This novel really stood the test of time in the psychological thriller department.
I can definitely see how this novel relates to others in like genres. I immediately was reminded of Lolita because it is one of my favorite books and has much the same type of narrator as Frederick. A newer release that I can see influences in is You by Carolina Kepnes. I didn’t particularly enjoy this novel and found it mediocre, but I can see how Kepnes could have been inspired by The Collector for sure. Her main character stalks a woman he sees in a bookstore and attempts to insert himself into her life to become her boyfriend at the cost of the lives around her. I love this genre of novels written from the perspective of the offender and I think they are so compelling to read because we get to be in the mind of a creep. However, I can only imagine how insane this drives the authors, having to live with these characters and inside their minds to write!
Comments
Post a Comment